By I can’t say I am not surprised by the fact that professional protesters were behind the deadly blaze that killed six people this week in Seoul’s Yongsan neighborhood:
Two men arrested for making and throwing Molotov cocktails during the protest in the Yongsan district that resulted in the deaths of six people exit the Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office in Seocho-dong on January 22.
Five protesters were arrested Thursday after an investigative division of the Seoul Central Prosecutors’ Office asked a court to issue arrest warrants for six people on charges that they threw Molotov cocktails to prevent police from removing them from the site and caused the fire that resulted in the deaths of six other people, including one policeman.
The five who stand charged were among 25 others detained by police after Tuesday’s deadly blaze. Two of the five were area residents, the other three are members of the Federation Against House Demolition (Jun Chul Yun) and are suspected of having played major roles in organizing the protest. The five people were also charged with removing doors, occupying the building and starting fires at other buildings with Molotov cocktails thrown to prevent policemen from approaching. They entered the building against the wishes of tenants and renters who had received compensation for their property blocked protesters from entry.
Senior Prosecutor Jeong Byeong-du, who heads the prosecution’s investigative division, said, “There is evidence that they had been preparing for the protest for a long time. They had thoroughly prepared. Since last year, they have raised tens of millions of won and stored a three-months supply of food, paint thinner and other flammable materials in the building. This was not a protest to defend their right to survive. There was evidence of criminal behavior. After painstaking consideration, we had no choice but to seek arrest warrants.” He added that the prosecution “attributed the fire to the Molotov cocktails.”
The prosecution also said it is planning to investigate senior members of Jun Chul Yun. “It is necessary to investigate the people who were involved in preparing for the protest and those involved in its implementation, even if they didn’t participate in the occupation of the building,” Jeong said. [Hankyoreh]
What I find interesting is that the Hankyoreh is demanding that the police be prosecuted as well for police brutality when from all reports all they did was try to enter the building inside a metal container lifted by a crane when the protesters through the explosives at them.
Any bets on how long it will be before Norma Kang Muico and the rest of the clowns at Amnesty International arrive to release a report condemning the police and not the people throwing explosives?
8:36 am on January 23rd, 2009 1
The leftists must have one helluva propaganda machine working for them because a public poll indicates a large segment of those polled think this was a case of police brutality and a violation of the protestors’ human rights.
As baffling as this is – I can’t really say I’m surprised.
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8:54 am on January 23rd, 2009 2
GI, Hankyoreh had their entire front English page loaded with a solid line of stories denouncing this “massacre” a couple of days ago — literally 6 or 7 stories and nothing else, and none of the stories offered any quotes from the perspective of the police. And, of course, there was the obligatory Nazi cartoon as well.
You can be sure that the progressives will be trying to pull anything out of their ass that they can to get another round of candlelight vigils going this Spring and Summer, and you can be sure that Hankyoreh will be leading the charge!
Those fools seem to think that it’s still 1986 or something. I guess it must suck for them not to have a real revolution any more, and have no other recourse except to create more fake ones.
Kind of sad and pathetic when you really think about it.
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3:26 am on January 24th, 2009 3
Amnesty Korea has already announced statement condemning police. So, I think it will not take so long time to take her in..
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11:57 am on January 31st, 2009 4
There was a pretty big turn-out of protesters in Chongno this afternoon and evening (Saturday Jan. 31st). Maybe a couple thousand when I passed by Ch'onggye Stream near Youngpoong at 4pm and then when I came again around 6pm it was maybe 4 or 5 thousand. The cops had blocked off Ch'onggye Plaza and so the protesters marched to Myong-dong shortly after 6pm, calling out “Overthrow the dictator!” and all the same tired chants they've used a million times by now (can't they at least be more creative? Jeez.). Lots of police but they let them go through the main intersection at Ulchiro-1-ga and then had them bottled up basically in front of the entrance to the main pedestrian mall in Myong-dong. It was many of the same groups who had been involved in the anti-beef protests, of course, including the Anti-LMB cafe, Agora and the two “socialist” parties, Democratic Labor Party and New Progressive Party. Some of them even had candlegirl paper cups for their candles, which I found rather outrageous and cheap (especially since there were no schoolgirls there at all to lend them some more fake moral legitimacy).
The protesters attacked a police line a few times, looking to become martyrs in front of the cameras, of course. One policeman was dragged off the line but the action was mild otherwise. A funny moment was a young college girl who kept whining to the police on the sidewalk, “There's a pathway here, isn't there? Why are you blocking the pathway?” I was tempted to ask her why she was complaining when several thousand of her buddies had blocked the entire street right in front of us, causing no end of grief for drivers, buses and whatnot, but I decided to keep my trap shut. There were also quite a few college kids who seemed to have forgotten that they were ostensibly there to mourn the deaths of the 5 squatters of Yongsan: Many were laughing and dancing in front of the police line and having a grand old time. At least they could be better actors, but I guess the euphoria of them being “freedom fighters” standing up against “Dictator Lee” and the “killer police” got the better of them.
I noticed the riot police had a lot of black plastic body armor on this time (even the young conscripts), and they also had several police with blue-tinted water-spray backpacks in each formation, but they didn't use them when I was there. It seemed the main strategy of the police was to simply bore the protesters to death. I left early myself for that very reason.
A large protest is planned for Sunday afternoon at Ch'ongye Plaza. Don't these people have anything better to do than pose in front of their cameras while they piss off motorists and military conscripts?
I think we're just getting started with these candlelight protests again, and that it's going to be another long, hot and very pissed off summer here in the Land of Mourning Calm.
I also agree with those who say that today's riot police have been thoroughly emasculated. When they started pushing back the line of protesters in the street in front of Lotte Dept. Store, one of the lead riot policemen even held his hands up in the air in front of the demonstrators as if to say, “I'm not going to do anything bad to you, even if you hit me first, so don't worry!” To me it's absurd that these protesters can throw things at the police (as they did tonight), push and hit them and scream at them constantly, and the police just have to sit there immobilized and basically take it without complaining.
These protesters are still stuck in the 1980s, fighting against the “evil police” in the name of “democracy,” and have done a very good job of convincing much of the nation that the riot police are the authoritarian agents of a cruel, terrible dictatorship.
What a joke. What a country.
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5:27 pm on January 31st, 2009 5
I noticed there were far fewer protesters at the actual scene of the fire. Perhaps this is because of the limited space and the fact that the police have blocked the streets in Yongsan with buses. It will be interesting to see if the same old crowd of leftist/progressive protesters will stir the pot of discontent not only on this issue but with the upcoming decision on the FTA, since the new American administration is more in line with their own ideology and they no longer have George Bush to hate.
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4:40 am on February 1st, 2009 6
1. They were trespassing
2. They were loitering
3. They were breaking and entering
4. They assaulted tenants of the building that they were supposedly fighting for
5. They premeditated and prepared for a violent clash with police
6. They assaulted police with deadly force
7. They commited arson as their firebombs ignited near-by buildings on fire
8. They probably broke zoning codes/laws by constructing a watch tower on the roof
9. They endangered the lives and safety of the public
10. They effectively contributed to the blemishing of Korea's image worldwide
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5:15 am on February 1st, 2009 7
Someone has uploaded movie clip on youtube.com which can explain what really happen in yongsan jan. 19-20.
See this.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q_P__vMOKZs
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8:28 am on February 1st, 2009 8
Things were even more extreme tonight. At least a dozen riot police were pulled off the line in front of Ulchiro-1-ga Station at around 8pm and pummeled pretty hard; even a couple of tiny college girls managed to get a few licks in and one even tried to grab a policeman's helmet off his head, but she was like a foot shorter than him and couldn't quite, uh, pull it off; she was certainly screaming like a wild woman, which was quite frightening and bizarre to witness. Of course, there was the usual media frenzy, which was the whole point of the evening's proceedings, so mission accomplished, I guess.
I was rather sickened by a funeral procession during which some family members marched to Myong-dong bearing photos of the deceased squatters; the way these leftist groups like Shin Jinbo-dang and Minju Nodong-dang were exploiting their grief was simply shameless.
I noticed quite a few ordinary citizens were much more vocal in verbally attacking the protesters, and there were quite a few scuffles and punches thrown between both sides, especially once they got to Myong-dong This strikes me as a new development, and the possibility of mounting social conflict seems likely; all it will take is another manufactured controversy to set the whole country off again, especially if it involves the US.
I say we pull out all the US troops now, and let these fools defend their country for themselves since they're so keen for a fight all the time. They're well up to the job at this point, by all accounts.
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9:38 am on February 1st, 2009 9
Baeksu Wang ~ thanks for the “blow-by-blow” on the scene updates.
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10:26 am on February 1st, 2009 10
No worries, Guitard.
I was talking to a couple of Japanese tourists tonight at the demo in Myong-dong when some college kid butted in and started whining about how dangerous and deadly the police water cannon was that had been used at Yongsan. I seriously doubt he's seen the video “What happened in Yongsan,” which is only to be expected. I actually told him, “Open you eyes, man, they were throwing Molotov cocktails!” but he probably thought I was just a stupid, ignorant foreigner who “doesn't understand Korea.”
That video reminds me that I also saw some older male protesters breaking and pulling up bricks from the sidewalk in front of Ulchiro-1-ga Station, although I don't know if they used them since I left early. They seemed to be pretty good at it, and had quickly built up a sizable pile; no doubt, it's pretty clear where they got their skills from.
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6:33 pm on February 1st, 2009 11
It's hard to believe the dead officer's father doesn't have stronger feelings regarding the people who killed his son.
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Dead SWAT officer’s dad forgiving of protesters
February 02, 2009
The fire after a violent clash between police and protesting squatters in Yongsan last month claimed six lives – five were demonstrators and one was a police officer.
While the nation is divided between those who support the “illegal demonstrators” or the “oppressors,” the father of the police SWAT team member who died can see both sides of the dispute.
Kim Kwon-chan, 55, the father of the late Kim Nam-hun, 31, broke his silence some 10 days after his son’s death in a recent interview with the JoongAng Ilbo.
“Even after the funeral, I still didn’t feel like he’s gone. It was when three of my son’s team members came to see me on Lunar New Year’s Day in his place that I realized it, and I was heart-stricken as they reminded me of my dead son,” Kim said.
Kim said since his family is also underprivileged, he can sympathize with the families of the other victims. “I feel pity for those squatters who died in the incident, and I can also understand why they had to have a demonstration. But the way they carried it out was not right,” he said.
“It is wrong that they sprayed paint thinner and threw Molotov cocktails. I condemn the offense but not the offender. My hatred for the offenders will make no change in what already happened,” he said.
The results of prosecutors’ investigation into the incident are expected by as early as this week, but Kim said there is nothing more he wants to know since his son is already gone.
“I would do anything if I could bring my son back to life. Since that will never happen, however, I decided to leave the matter as it is.
“I only hope that a tragic incident like this causing regrettable deaths will never be repeated,” he said.
Kim said it is heartbreaking to hear many call his dead son an oppressor of the weak. “My son has done nothing wrong by performing his duties. Police are not an enemy of the people. They are just the same people as demonstrators.”
Kim, who lives in an impoverished area in Silim-dong, southwestern Seoul, asserted that the government should play the role of mediator between the haves and have-nots.
“Korea is still a country where it is difficult for the underprivileged to live as few listen to what they say. The government should be the listener and speak for them when necessary,” he said.
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7:55 pm on February 1st, 2009 12
Wow, the protesters are now performing the function of police themselves. How nice:
“No documentation devices such as cameras were discovered, and the men were released after being held up by the citizens for over 30 minutes.”
http://english.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/...
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10:17 pm on February 1st, 2009 13
I hate to sound overly dramatic……….but isn't something like this tantamount to kidnapping?
It doesn't specifically say they were held against their will, but I think it's safe to assume they cooperated out of a sense of fear of what might happen to them if they didn't cooperate. A crowd of 10,000 can be rather intimidating…..
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1:12 am on February 2nd, 2009 14
Oh, I'm sure they were held against their will. The protesters did the same thing many times last year; not only did they assume the function of police, but they also gave themselves the authority of a criminal court when they held a “trial” at Chonggak last July in which they tried two captured policemen for “crimes against the people.”
Many of these fools only recognize the authority of the state when it is convenient for them to do so, and when it is not convenient for them, they simply usurp state authority themselves, or at least pretend to do so.
The funny thing is that one of the leading political parties involved in these protests (both now and last year) is the New Progressive Party, which failed to win a single seat during last year's National Assembly elections. They claim to represent the will people, and yet they can't even get a single member elected.
No wonder they want to effectively privatize essential functions of the state like law and order, since that's the only way they can get a taste of real power for themselves.
When are they going to wake up and actually face reality?
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2:37 am on February 2nd, 2009 15
It may also be said that these ‘revolutionaries’ know the strengths and the weaknesses of the system over here. They are masters of manipulation and intimidation. As long as they can form an effective symbiotic relationship with political parties who can use them and whom they can use for their own political ambition and vision of an ideal world, they feel embolden to push the envelope. Thus, last summer prominent politicians openly joined the protests not simply because they disagreed with the way President Lee handled the American beef issue, but because an opportunity presented itself to unsettle the new president or—better yet for them—possible outright oust him. It’s pretty sad when politically ambitious men use personal tragedy to foster their own agenda, but this is what we seem to see played out year after year in Korea: Legitimate social grievances are distorted and exasperated to promote the self seeking goals of ideologues whose world view is usually far left.
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5:23 am on February 2nd, 2009 16
I went out to have dinner tonight in Chongno around 6pm and at the main intersection by T'apgol Park, there were two large vans on opposite corners playing the same video footage that appears in “What Happened in Yongsan” on large TV screens on top of their roof. The writing on the side of the vans said they were sponsored by “Vision Korea” which according to a Google search seems to be a trading company of some sort, but obviously they were in support of the police. There were also some messages on the side that said, “Deal with (or punish) the Yongsan killers, too.” (Actually, the word they used for “killers” was “sarinp'ok”; I'm not sure what the “-p'ok” suffix means unless it is the same p'ok used for the word mafia or gangsters. Can anyone help me here?).
I went to dinner and when I came back, a couple of younger ajosshis in suits were starting a big commotion near one of the vans, complaining it was “too loud” (well, not really, and certainly much quieter than all the shops on the street blasting hip-hop and K-pop at high decibels). It seemed they were actually supporters of the “anti-LMB” forces and were just using the noise issue as an excuse to try to get the vans to go away. The funny thing was that very quickly at least a dozen folks were arguing with the two ajosshis and supporting the people running the vans; things got quickly heated and the two sides almost came to blows before the police stepped in to break things up. The other funny thing is how the anti-LMB demonstrators have caused endless noise and disruption in Chongno for months on end, but they don't seem to like very much having a taste of their own medicine.
It's kind of sad, actually, that the liberal media here are so biased that people have to rent vans and put them in the streets to get the police's side of the story out there for the public to see for themselves. The other sad thing is how the social conflict over these issues only seems to be intensifying. I guess the good news is that the moderates and conservatives here have decided to get more proactive and make their own position known as well. These fake leftists and “progressive” activists need to learn that they do not represent the majority of Koreans, despite their claims to stand for the “will of the people,” and need to starting acting a bit more humble and realistic about themselves and what they really want to accomplish for society.
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